# Alternatives to Convex

Convex is a reactive backend-as-a-service where the database, server functions, and realtime subscriptions are written in TypeScript, giving apps live-updating queries, transactional writes, file storage, and scheduled/serverless functions.

Convex ranks #4 of 10 in Backend-as-a-service, with an Alt Score of 89. It is licensed under FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0, freemium from $25/developer/month and available on Web and Linux. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/convex/
Category: Backend-as-a-service

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: TypeScript/JavaScript developers building fullstack web and mobile apps (Next.js, React, React Native, Expo, etc.) who want a backend without hand-rolling a database, API layer, and realtime sync.
- **What you get**: A reactive database with schema-optional documents, TypeScript queries/mutations/actions that double as your API, file storage, scheduling/cron, vector search, and built-in or third-party auth, all deployed from your codebase.
- **How it works**: You write queries, mutations, and actions in TypeScript inside a convex/ folder; Convex generates a typed client API and automatically keeps query results live via WebSocket subscriptions, so UI re-renders whenever the underlying data changes. The backend is open source (FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted or run on Convex's managed cloud.

## Profile

- **License**: FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Starts at**: $25/developer/month (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Platforms**: Web, Linux
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-13)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Supabase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/supabase.md) | 100 | Apache License 2.0 | Web |
| 2 | [Appwrite](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appwrite.md) | 96 | BSD-3-Clause | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 3 | [AWS Amplify](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aws-amplify.md) | 93 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [InstantDB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/instantdb.md) | 85 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Back4app](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/back4app.md) | 81 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Firebase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/firebase.md) | 81 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Parse Platform](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/parse-platform.md) | 81 | Apache-2.0 | iOS, macOS, Android, Web |
| 8 | [Xano](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xano.md) | 81 | Proprietary | ? |
| 9 | [PocketBase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pocketbase.md) | 78 | MIT License | Linux, Windows, macOS, Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Backend-as-a-service checklist | Convex | Supabase | Appwrite | AWS Amplify | InstantDB | Back4app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Usage-based | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starts at | $25/developer/month | $25/mo (Pro) | $25/mo | Free | $30/mo | $15/mo |
| License | FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 | Apache License 2.0 | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | ? |
| Platforms | Web, Linux | Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Managed database | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auth built in | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File / object storage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Realtime subscriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Serverless / edge functions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Auto-generated APIs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Client SDKs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Row-level security | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vector / AI support | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | No | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Convex. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 — <https://github.com/get-convex/convex-backend/blob/main/LICENSE.md> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Functional Source License, Version 1.1, Apache 2.0 Future License ## Abbreviation FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0”
- **Pricing model**: Freemium — <https://www.convex.dev/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Free tier + paid Professional ($25/dev/mo) and Business & Enterprise tiers; backend itself is also open source and self-hostable (OSS + paid hosting also applies).
  - Quote: “Free & Starter For personal projects and prototypes Free or $0/month and pay as you go”
- **Starts at**: $25/developer/month — <https://www.convex.dev/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Professional For startups moving from prototype to production $25 per developer/month”
- **Platforms**: Web, Linux — <https://docs.convex.dev/self-hosting> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Cloud dashboard/app is web-based (Web); open-source backend can be self-hosted on your own Linux servers. Client SDKs additionally target React/React Native/iOS/Android/etc, but platform claim here is
  - Quote: “If you're excited about self-hosting, you can run the Convex backend on your own servers.”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.convex.dev/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Actively developed/marketed product with current pricing, docs, and 2026 copyright notice on convex.dev.
  - Quote: “Get your app up and running in minutes”
- **Managed database**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/database> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “The Convex database provides a relational data model, stores JSON-like documents, and can be used with or without a schema.”
- **Auth built in**: Partial — <https://docs.convex.dev/auth> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Built-in Convex Auth library exists but is in beta and more commonly paired with third-party providers (Clerk, WorkOS AuthKit, Auth0) per the same page.
  - Quote: “For client-side React and React Native mobile apps you can implement auth directly in Convex with the Convex Auth library. ... Convex Auth is currently a beta feature.”
- **File / object storage**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/file-storage> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “File Storage makes it easy to implement file upload in your app, store files from and send files to third-party APIs, and to serve dynamic files to your users.”
- **Realtime subscriptions**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/realtime> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Turns out Convex is automatically realtime! ... Convex tracks the dependencies to your query functions, including database changes, and triggers the subscription in the client libraries.”
- **Serverless / edge functions**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/functions> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Functions run on the backend and are written in JavaScript (or TypeScript). They are automatically available as APIs accessed through client libraries.”
- **Auto-generated APIs**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/generated-api> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Generated typed client API (api.js/api.d.ts) from your functions/schema via `npx convex dev`, not a REST-from-tables generator.
  - Quote: “Convex uses code generation to create code that is specific to your app's data model and API.”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/self-hosting> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Self-hosted Convex runs the open-source backend, and contains the same fully up-to-date code the cloud service uses.”
- **Open source**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/self-hosting> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “The Convex backend, client libraries, dashboard, and CLI are all open-source.”
- **Client SDKs**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/client/react> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: llms.txt lists additional quickstarts for Next.js, Remix, TanStack Start, React Native, Vue, Svelte, Node.js, Bun, Python, Android Kotlin, iOS Swift, Rust.
  - Quote: “Convex React is the client library enabling your React application to interact with your Convex backend.”
- **Row-level security**: No — <https://docs.convex.dev/auth> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Access control is enforced in application code inside functions, not via SQL row-level security policies.
  - Quote: “Convex doesn't need an opinionated authorization framework like RLS, which is required in client oriented databases like Firebase or Supabase.”
- **Vector / AI support**: Yes — <https://docs.convex.dev/search/vector-search> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Vector search allows you to find Convex documents similar to a provided vector. ... Embeddings and vector search enable you to provide useful context to LLMs for AI powered applications.”
- **Free tier**: Yes — <https://www.convex.dev/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Free & Starter For personal projects and prototypes Free or $0/month and pay as you go”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/